A citation is the information that tells readers where source material can be found. A properly cited quotation has three elements: the author's last name, the year of publication, and the location of the quote. Quotations function best when used selectively to enhance your point; don't use them when you make the point in your own words just as well. It's easy to think "I can't possibly say it any better," but that isn't always true. The examples below are designed to help you determine when you might choose to quote someone else's words. Note, too, the variety of ways to incorporate elements of citations into a direct quote.

• You find a phrase or a group of phrases too brightly composed not to quote verbatim, and you would lose the original sense of style if you paraphrased.
  
  Example:
  One of Mohammed Ali's most effective boxing mantras was: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" (Gray, 2004, p. 23).



• You find something written so well and succinctly that you cannot paraphrase it without weakening it.
  
  Example:
  While political moderates are first to claim to represent mainstream voters, they occasionally find themselves the target of criticism. As Margaret Thatcher once said of moderates, "Standing on the middle of the road can be very dangerous; you get knocked down by traffic from both sides" (1988, p. 12).



• The original source material is so dense, or is structured in such a way, that a direct quotation is the most accurate way to represent it .
  
  Example:
  According to Dr. Smith (2003), some speech problems persist because they are psychological in nature yet are treated as though they are physical:

Although speech irregularities are most often treated at the physical or motor level, their origin can be traced to deep untreated psychological disturbances.which is why physical speech therapy has been grossly inefffective; you cannot cure emotional wounds with cosmetic treatments. (p. 100)

• The quote needs to demonstrate that the author being quoted said something precise, and you want to represent the author's words accurately.
  
  Example:
  In the summer of 2003, Johnson went on record with this key statement: "I have never plagiarized a single sentence in my life" (p. 12).